Ayakashi Monogatari

Chapter Five: Kunekune of Madness

Chapter Five: Kunekune of Madness

Oddly enough, the rest of that week was surprisingly quiet and calm. I spent much of my time penned up in the house helping to mend Raven's wounds. He had been utterly silent after his battle against Shironeko, and aside from the occasional times when I made him eat or drink, he barely even moved. Raven looked much like he had when I first met him, behind those cage bars. It was depressing to watch, but I had a mountain of my own problems to deal with.

Being home for the first time in so long felt surreal. It was like I hadn't been there in an eternity. Seeing all those familiar sights after the alien world I had just been thrust headfirst into...it was bizarre. It should have been comforting, but all I felt was uneasiness. I didn't even go in my parents' bedroom anymore. I couldn't look in that room, the place where my mother died in front of me. Even passing by the door made me tremble, so I opted to keep it locked. I tried to avoid that side of the house as much as I possibly could.

I felt guilty for being scared of the house my mother and I made so many memories in. My mother was a peculiar woman. Not in a bad way or anything, she just had some unique interests.

Her grandfather used to run a shrine, and she worked at that shrine as a miko when she was a teenager for many years. She learned all sorts of myths and legends from both our home country and from the West, and she made it her duty to pass that knowledge on to me.

She taught me all about Ayakashi, all the legendary figures and mythical beings of ancient times, when the creatures I worked alongside were worshiped as gods. She even prayed to the supposed 'household gods' that she called her 'familiars.' Sometimes, we'd burn incense and pray together, and we'd practice traditional tea ceremonies. I think in some way, she wanted me to be a miko too, just as she was.

My mother used to read me bedtime stories of myths and legends from across the world. In reality, she was the one who got me so interested in fairytales. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't know anything about the Otherworld, Onmyoji, Ayakashi, and all of the other crazy things I had been thrust into over the past week. Resurfacing those old memories brought tears to my eyes. I hated feeling this way. They were supposed to be happy times, but now, they only reminded me of what I had lost- and what I could never get back.

When my father was around, my mom was such a cheerful, unshakeable person. She was so kind. But after my dad left, she was shattered, and she became a withdrawn shell of her former self.

My mom practically idolized Seimei. She'd call him the 'White Rabbit' and boast about how he possessed the unearthly beauty of an Ayakashi. If only she knew the truth. My mother just wasn't the same person after Seimei was gone. She still did all the things we used to do, like prayers, tea ceremonies, and storytelling, but she had no emotion, no heart, no soul. She was like a robot.

I think she only did it to distract herself from the pain of my dad's disappearance.

Every day at sunset, she'd sit outside on the front steps and stare down that drive, waiting for him to return. But he never did. And my empty, soulless husk of a mother continued the same trance-like routine, all the way up until the night she died. What did she feel when Asura killed her? What did she think? Did she believe that her beloved Seimei would finally return to save her? Or did she simply lie down and submit to the fate she had been awaiting for six long years?

More than anything, that was what made me so upset at my father. Not just because he abandoned me, but because of all the torment my mom suffered as a result. That was why I could never forgive him.

One morning, I groggily stirred out of sleep and rolled over on top of something soft, squishy...and warm. I opened my eyes and came face to face with Raven's stoic expression. I was lying right on top of him, nestled between folds of his massive black cloak. "Good morning, Minami," Raven said. I jolted upright. "Wh-what the hell!? What are you doing in my bed?! You're supposed to be on the couch!"